Jared McCain an Early Front Runner for NBA Rookie of the Year

There's not a lot going well for the Sixers right now. They are 2-9 on the season as their stars remain mostly absent.

But rookie guard Jared McCain is certainly a bright spot. Take a look at these numbers from Wednesday night's loss to the undefeated Cavaliers:

Jared McCain tonight:

34 PTS
10 AST
2 STL
6 3P

Joins Jason Kidd and Steph Curry as the only rookies in NBA history to reach those numbers. pic.twitter.com/WBEvFnVXfA

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 14, 2024

Selected 16th overall in this year's NBA draft, McCain was not widely expected to contend for Rookie of the Year. As of Thursday morning, however, McCain had the shortest odds of any player to win the award on FanDuel (+300), Caesar's Sportsbook (+250), ESPN Bet (+300), and DraftKings (+350).

Screenshot of NBA Rookie of the Year Odds from the FanDuel betting app

It's early, of course. And McCain will lose scoring opportunities when Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey take the floor. But so far, so good for the 20-year-old TikToker out of Duke.

Go ahead and do your dance, young man.

Jared Mccain with a trip to the final 4 on the line pic.twitter.com/cPVBl7nP4N

— Stefan 🐯 (@TkachukFanAcc) March 31, 2024

The Sixers will face the Magic on Friday night.